Living trust is one of the vital documents that should be contained in your estate plan documents. A living trust is an estate planning document which helps you place all your estate property into a trust while you are alive, and allows you to transfer your assets to desired beneficiaries while you are still alive or even when you pass on. When forming a living trust, the beneficiaries named in this document is called a successor trustee and you, the guarantor.
Through trust, you can have anyone whom you solely desire manage and make financial decisions over your assets both while you are alive or dead as well as when you become mentally incapacitated. Living trust also forms the bases of how your estates are shared or given to beneficiaries in Queens.
Estate planning is a process of making many important decisions and plans over your future and that of your loved ones. specifically, estate plans, concerns what happen to your assets both while you are alive and well or dead, how you want to share your assets to family, children or spouse, who takes over making certain important decisions for you in cases of mental incapability and lastly transfer of ownership of a property. These plans can only be presented, documented and implemented in living trust.
When planning your estate, it is expedient that you plan with a trust attorney, who would guide you with through the entire process of documenting and implementing your directives in the trust. There are several types of estate document, most popular and slightly similar to the living trust is the last will. However, living trust, edges out the will in a number of ways.
Living trust is a more complete estate document than a Last will
A living trust is different from will. This distinction can be seen in the way each documents are executed and their benefits. Living trust are legal documents through which you place your assets for protection and also easy transfer of estate to appointed beneficiary called the successor trustee. A will however, is a written legal documents with a plan to distribute your assets upon your death. A named executor as documented in the will oversee this process of reading and implementing the will.
While the living trust can be executed anytime the trust has been funded, the will only takes effect until after your death.
Another major advantage of living trust over will is that it prevents probate, therefore saving time and cost for any legal proceeding on wills.
It is however important, that you include a living trust together with a Will in your estate plans.
A living trust document can be used for the following
You living trust can help you protect your estate and finances. Once, you fund the trust by transferring your assets into it, it becomes legal and secured.
Real Estate, houses and Mortgages
To transfer a house or other real estate property to a living trust in New York, a new deed must be made with the local real estate records. Estate taxes issues would also have to be settled. It is always good consult a living trust attorney for estate plans.
Bank and other financial accounts
Financial accounts can also be transferred into the living trust, for protection or for ease of transfer to beneficiaries.
There are various types of trust, but majorly the irrevocable and revocable living trust, other types of trust are the special need trust or the spendthrift trust. These two however can still be placed into the irrevocable and revocable trust.
Name a guardian or a trustee to oversee your finances and property
This living trust is only implemented when you become incapacitated. A court proceeding would no longer be needed for establishing guardianship and appointing a legal guardian for you. Your trustee as stated in the living trust would step into this decision making duty of managing your estate and other affairs.
Living Trust prevents excessive estate taxes
This is another important reason for establishing a trust. Under the IRS law, the only trust that avoids estate taxes is the irrevocable living trust.
While you would want to get the living trust document in your estate plans, you should know that, the documents serve other purpose, such as transferring assets to a desired beneficiary without probate, it also ensures, secrecy and permanency of estate plans. Plan your estate today.